Critical care medicine
-
Critical care medicine · Dec 2014
Multicenter StudyTargeted Temperature Management Processes and Outcomes After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: An Observational Cohort Study.
Targeted temperature management has been shown to improve survival with good neurological outcome in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The optimal approach to inducing and maintaining targeted temperature management, however, remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to evaluate these processes of care with survival and neurological function in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. ⋯ A higher baseline temperature prior to initiation of targeted temperature management and a slower rate of cooling were associated with improved survival and neurological outcomes. This may reflect a complex relationship between the approach to targeted temperature management and the extent of underlying brain injury causing impaired thermoregulation in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.
-
Critical care medicine · Dec 2014
The Utility of Proadrenomedullin and Procalcitonin in Comparison to C-Reactive Protein as Predictors of Sepsis and Bloodstream Infections in Critically Ill Patients With Cancer.
Infections in critically ill patients continue to impose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. We seek to investigate the utility of proadrenomedullin and procalcitonin as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in febrile critically ill patients with cancer and compare their performance with that of C-reactive protein. ⋯ In critically ill patients with cancer, proadrenomedullin and procalcitonin both have a promising role in predicting bloodstream infections in a manner more helpful than C-reactive protein. These two biomarkers were superior to C-reactive protein in the prognostic analysis of response to antimicrobial therapy for those patients with documented infections. However, proadrenomedullin was superior to procalcitonin in predicting response in all febrile patients and was unique in showing increased levels among nonresponders.
-
Critical care medicine · Dec 2014
Vancomycin-Associated Nephrotoxicity in the Critically Ill: A Retrospective Multivariate Regression Analysis.
To evaluate the influence of vancomycin dose, serum trough concentration, and dosing strategy on the evolution of acute kidney injury in critically ill patients. ⋯ In a large dataset, higher serum vancomycin concentrations and greater duration of therapy are independently associated with increased odds of nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, continuous infusion is associated with a decreased likelihood of nephrotoxicity compared with intermittent infusion. This large dataset supports the use of continuous infusion of vancomycin in critically ill patients.
-
Critical care medicine · Dec 2014
Critical Cerebral Perfusion Pressure at High Intracranial Pressure Measured by Induced Cerebrovascular and Intracranial Pressure Reactivity.
The lower limit of cerebral blood flow autoregulation is the critical cerebral perfusion pressure at which cerebral blood flow begins to fall. It is important that cerebral perfusion pressure be maintained above this level to ensure adequate cerebral blood flow, especially in patients with high intracranial pressure. However, the critical cerebral perfusion pressure of 50 mm Hg, obtained by decreasing mean arterial pressure, differs from the value of 30 mm Hg, obtained by increasing intracranial pressure, which we previously showed was due to microvascular shunt flow maintenance of a falsely high cerebral blood flow. The present study shows that the critical cerebral perfusion pressure, measured by increasing intracranial pressure to decrease cerebral perfusion pressure, is inaccurate but accurately determined by dopamine-induced dynamic intracranial pressure reactivity and cerebrovascular reactivity. ⋯ Critical cerebral perfusion pressure of 50 mm Hg was accurately determined by induced intracranial pressure reactivity and induced cerebrovascular reactivity, whereas the static method failed.